Ion-beam-induced magnetic and structural phase transformation of Ni-stabilized face-centered-cubic Fe films on Cu(100)

Ion-beam-induced magnetic and structural phase transformation of Ni-stabilized face-centered-cubic Fe films on Cu(100)

Peer-reviewed article not indexed in WoS or Scopus

Metastable face-centered cubic (fcc) Fe/Cu(100) thin films are good candidates for ion-beam magnetic patterning due to their magnetic transformation upon ion-beam irradiation. However, pure fcc Fe films undergo spontaneous transformation when their thickness exceeds 10 ML. This limit can be extended to approximately 22 ML by deposition of Fe at increased CO background pressures. We show that much thicker films can be grown by alloying with Ni for stabilizing the fcc phase. The amount of Ni necessary to stabilize nonmagnetic, transformable fcc Fe films in dependence on the residual background pressure during the deposition is determined and a phase diagram revealing the transformable region is presented.

Metastable face-centered cubic (fcc) Fe/Cu(100) thin films are good candidates for ion-beam magnetic patterning due to their magnetic transformation upon ion-beam irradiation. However, pure fcc Fe films undergo spontaneous transformation when their thickness exceeds 10 ML. This limit can be extended to approximately 22 ML by deposition of Fe at increased CO background pressures. We show that much thicker films can be grown by alloying with Ni for stabilizing the fcc phase. The amount of Ni necessary to stabilize nonmagnetic, transformable fcc Fe films in dependence on the residual background pressure during the deposition is determined and a phase diagram revealing the transformable region is presented.

Fe-Ni alloys; Phase transformation; Ion beam; Magnetism

Fe-Ni alloys; Phase transformation; Ion beam; Magnetism

GLOSS, J.; ZAMAN, S.; JONNER, J.; NOVOTNÝ, Z.; SCHMID, M.; VARGA, P.; URBÁNEK, M.

2014

27.12.2013

0003-6951

Applied Physics Letters

103

26

United States of America

262405-1

262405-4

4